West Woodland PTA Standing Rules

encourage and support increased engagement among all students, parents, teachers, staff, administrators and the greater community.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION

The name of the PTA local shall be West Woodland PTA, local unit number 6.15.365.

The unit incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in the State of Washington on November 27, 1984. It is the responsibility of this unit to file an Annual Corporation Report prior to March 1 annually and the Treasurer is expected to carry out this responsibility. The unit's incorporation number is 2-353202-1.

The unit's UBI # is 601593526 and its Federal Employer Identification Number is 91-1143968.

The unit was recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt organization on April 12, 1988 under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

LEADERSHIP

The Executive Committee of the Board consists of the following elected officers: President, Secretary, and Treasurer. The Executive Committee shall have the power to act on behalf of the board, as needed in between board meetings and to the extent permitted by the Washington Nonprofit Corporations Act, as amended.

Appointed members of the board may include but are not limited to: Volunteer Coordinator, Legislative Liaison, Membership Coordinator, Fundraising Coordinator, Communications Chair, Arts Program Coordinator, Web Producer and Enrichment Coordinator.

All Board members must be PTA members in good standing. All members of the board are entitled to voice and vote at all board meetings.

Any elected or appointed position may be held jointly by two people.

If an Executive Committee member misses three meetings within an academic year without excuse from the President, the position will be considered vacant and re-election procedures begun.

Board members are requested to attend all board and general meetings.

An individual may serve up to four years in a single elected position. Elected terms begin July 1 and may run for two years. Staggering elected roles such as co-President, Treasurer and Secretary is highly recommended.

The Principal, Kids Inc and Teacher Representative are non-voting members of the board.

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP

All parents, guardians, teachers and staff who complete a membership form and pay the fee are considered members of the West Woodland PTA and are invited to vote for officers, approve the budget, adopt/revise the standing rules, and discuss and vote on other issues that come before them.

The membership fee comprises fees from the National PTA, the Washington State PTA (WSPTA), the Seattle Council PTA (SCPTA) and the WWPTA. Any increase in the WWPTA portion of the fee must be approved by the general membership.

The students of West Woodland Elementary shall be considered honorary members of this PTA without vote or the privilege of holding office.

DECISION MAKING PROTOCOL

Meeting schedules

The board shall plan the membership meeting schedule in advance of the current school year. This schedule will include one meeting in May, which shall be the annual membership meeting for the purpose of electing officers, approving the budget and such other business which may properly come before the annual meeting. This information will be made available to the General membership within the first month of school.

The board meetings shall be held monthly on the same day and time to be determined by its current board, or as otherwise specified in notice provided in advance of the current school year.

General (community) meetings shall be held regularly as determined by the board.

Agendas & Minutes

The monthly board meeting agenda is developed and managed by the co-Presidents and co-Secretaries.

The co-Secretaries will send a request for agenda items to the board about a week before the meeting.

The board meetings will use consent agenda format (routine updates and committee reports that do not require discussion or independent action will be considered one agenda item; i.e., approval of meeting minutes, membership number updates, enrichment room use information, volunteer updates, routine budget updates).

Along with the final agenda, the co-Secretaries will prepare and send the previous month’s board meeting minutes and any other written consent agenda items for review.

Board members should be prepared to vote on the consent agenda at the board meeting.

Approved board meeting minutes will be available electronically to any PTA member who requests a copy.

General (community) meeting minutes will be posted to the West Woodland community bulletin board and/or website.

Quorums & Voting

Each voting board member shall be entitled to one vote on matters put to the board..

The quorum for board meetings is one member more than half of the number of voting members of the current board.

The quorum for general (community) meetings is twelve WWPTA members.

A quorum is required for any vote. Voting results will be based on simple majority. A tie is not a majority.

Board Appointments

Open officer and other board positions for the following school year will be communicated to the general membership by March of the current school year.

Pursuant to the Bylaws, the election of the WWPTA officers shall be by vote of the general membership prior to June of the current school year. .

The appointment of non-officer board members for the subsequent year shall be made by the current year co-Presidents, with the approval of the full board of directors, no later than the June board meeting. Any positions remaining open or that become vacant shall be filled by the co-Presidents then in office, with the approval of the current board, as soon as possible.

FINANCE & LEGAL RECORD

The board is responsible for raising, distributing and overseeing management of the funds for the organization.

The Treasurer shall prepare a proposed budget with input from the PTA and its committees and programs. Planning for the next year’s budget should begin in late February or early March. The board shall review its proposed annual budget in the spring (April or May) of each year. It is recommended that the outgoing and incoming Presidents and Treasurers be part of the budget planning sessions. The board shall approve the final budget and present it for approval of the general membership at the general membership meeting held closest to the end of the fiscal year.

The PTA Board may modify the approved budget for expenditures of up to $5,000 from the approved budget (not to exceed $20,000 per year) without the general membership approval. All larger appropriations will be referred to the general membership for authorization.

The PTA may conduct a financial review of its books and records on or about the close of the fiscal year, June 30th.

The Treasurer shall circulate the annual Form 990 to the full board for review prior to filing with the IRS.

Original copies of all legal documents shall be kept in a secure location in the PTA office or the main office of the school. Only elected officers shall have access to the contents. One copy of these documents shall be maintained in our unit file with the State PTA office. One copy of these documents shall be maintained in a legal document file maintained by the Treasurer.

The signatures of the President, Treasurer and others as deemed necessary by the Board shall be on the signature card for the WW PTA’s authorized bank account. Only elected officers shall be signers for the account.

RECOGNITION

One or more Golden Acorn Awards shall be presented annually in the spring to an outstanding volunteer(s). An award committee chair, appointed by the President in April shall convene an award committee and select recipient(s) from the school community. The award committee shall determine the recipient(s). Awards will be presented in June.

One or more Outstanding Educator Awards shall be presented annually to an outstanding teacher or educator. An award committee chair, appointed by the President in April shall convene an award committee and select recipient(s) from the school community. The award committee shall determine the recipient(s). Awards will be presented in June.

LOCAL & STATE PTA REPRESENTATION

Voting delegates to the Seattle Council (SC) PTA shall be one of the co-President(s), and Secretary. The alternates shall be the Treasurer and Legislative Liaison.

The PTA Board may vote for the position of WS PTA Regional Director.

The voting delegates to the annual WSPTA convention shall be determined in the following order: Outgoing President, Incoming President, Incoming Secretary, Incoming Treasurer, Outgoing Secretary, Outgoing Treasurer. The Board shall determine the number of delegates to be funded by the PTA.

The voting delegate to the WSPTA Legislative Assembly shall be determined in the following order: Legislative Liaison, Co-President, Secretary, Treasurer, PTA member in good standing. The board of directors shall determine the number of delegates to be funded by the PTA.

STANDING RULES

The Standing Rules will be presented annually at the first Board Meeting.

The Standing Rules may be amended by the affirmative vote of a quorum at a general membership meeting.